Box Office: GIRL ON THE TRAIN arrives with $24.7m

DreamWorks’ adaptation of The Girl on the Train opened relatively well with a $24.7m first place domestic weekend, despite Hurricane Matthew keeping many US cinemas closed.

The $45m-budgeted film, directed by Tate Taylor and starring Emily Blunt, earned $1.2m from six overseas territories. The thriller, based on Paula Hawkins’ bestseller, was received poorly by many critics, including our own.

Dropping to second place with a $15m second weekend, Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children has now reached $51m total domestically on a $110m budget. The teen-oriented fantasy stars Asa Butterfield and Eva Green. Read our review of the film here.

Peter Berg’s Deepwater Horizon was in third place this weekend, adding $11.8m to its $38.5m domestic total. Having reportedly cost an astounding $156m, the film can fairly be considered a moderate failure so far. Berg and star Mark Wahlberg will reunite for December’s Patriots Day which- with a strong patriotic aspect- will likely fare better with audiences stateside.

The Magnificent Seven was in fourth place with $9.2m while animated comedy Storks added $8.5m in fifth place.

Opening in sixth place was Nate Parker’s acclaimed slavery drama The Birth of a Nation with $7.1m from 2,105 screens. Fox Searchlight bought the film at Sundance, where it was mooted as a strong Oscar contender, for $17.5m, but the film’s awards chances have been damaged somewhat by a rape controversy involving director/star Parker and the film’s co-writer.

Next weekend sees the release of The Accountant, starring Ben Affleck.